Gavin and Stacey's Alison Steadman says filming Christmas special was 'a nightmare'

ok.co.uk:

Alison Steadman has opened up about the "a nightmare" experience of filming the 'Gavin and Stacey' Christmas special, as enthusiastic fans and paparazzi swarmed the set.

At 78, the talented actress, who is fondly remembered for her role as Pam Shipman in the hit BBC Three sitcom, spoke candidly about the challenges they faced while shooting in Barry Island, Wales.

She was promoting her new book 'Out of Character' when she revealed: "The main thing is when we were filming, truly the paps were everywhere taking pictures, it was a nightmare." The privacy concerns echoed by series creators Ruth Jones and James Corden weighed heavily on the cast and crew, with Steadman recounting their plea to the public: "And there was people at the end of the street, here, there and everywhere, and the main thing that Ruth and James were saying to everyone is: 'We don't want to spoil it for you, we want Christmas Day to be a surprise, and once you know a bit of the story, it's going to spoil it.'" Sharing in their sentiment, Steadman reiterated: "And that is what I want too." Fans of 'Gavin and Stacey', which originally ran between 2007 to 2010 and closely follows two families united by a cross-country romance, are eagerly anticipating the follow-up to the show's 2019 cliffhanger Christmas special where Nessa popped the question to Smithy.The upcoming episode is highly anticipated to tie up loose ends.

Steadman recently said it was "wonderful" to reunite with the cast. She opened up to Prima magazine about the reunion: "It was wonderful to meet up again with Ruth and James for this year's Christmas special.